Would anyone really say that those killed by computer - driven cars have been harmed more than those killed by the
mistakes of human drivers?
While companies are testing self - driving cars on public roads, it's a long leap between that and the total
replacement of human drivers by machines.
One can imagine that smart technology might reduce the number of such accidents relative to the
performance of human drivers, but not that the number will go to zero.
The
elimination of human drivers will improve travel times by 60 % and reduce operating costs by 40 % — if initial estimates prove accurate.
While systems like Tesla's Autopilot and General Motors» Super Cruise do allow hands - free driving under limited circumstances, both require the
presence of a human driver who is at least somewhat alert and ready to take over the task of driving on short notice.
The new Semi will be able to automatically change lanes and stay within them and adjust to traffic speeds without the
help of human drivers.
But the debut of robot cars should not come as a surprise either, since Uber CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick predicted in 2014 in an interview at the Code conference that the
end of human drivers was eventually going to arrive.
Changing The Layout of Roads and Traffic Patterns: Beyond cars themselves, the design of roads and traffic today are built around the human needs and human
behavior of human drivers.
Engineers can build autonomous vehicles capable of cruising city streets without the
aid of a human driver, as demonstrated two years ago in the DARPA Urban Challenge.
Mazda's overarching safety philosophy, Mazda Proactive Safety, is grounded in understanding, respecting and believing in the
abilities of the human driver.
«Many [Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards] contain test procedures that are based on the assumed
presence of a human driver, and will therefore likely need to be amended to accommodate vehicles that can not be driven by humans,» the notice states.
In October 2016, Tesla announced that all vehicles in production, as well as the forthcoming Model 3, will be built with an updated hardware suite, equipping each Tesla with the hardware needed for full self - driving capability at a safety level substantially greater than
that of a human driver.
But in the two recent crashes, which involved vehicles using different kinds of technologies,
neither of the human drivers took any action before the accidents.
The complete opposite, in other words,
of human drivers.
But what happens to
all of the human drivers when automation soaks up all the gigs in the gig - driving economy?